The link between asthma and allergies

New study finds that kids with poorly-controlled asthma are more likely to have food allergies.

A new study from researchers at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York has found that inner-city kids with poorly-controlled asthma or skin allergies are also more likely to have food allergies, even if they've never before had a reaction to food.

The study, which was published this week in the Journal of Allergy & Clinical Immunology, evaluated 228 inner-city New York children who were currently being treated for chronic asthma. Of the children tested, 28 percent also had an allergy to food - primarily eggs, peanuts and milk. This rate is drastically higher than the rate of food allergies among U.S. kids in general - a measly 4 percent.

What's more, some of the kids actually displayed allergy symptoms, such as hives or an itchy rash, breathing difficulty, or nausea, vomiting or diarrhea. But a whopping 62 percent of kids tested had never had any allergy symptoms with regard to a particular food.

Health experts are not sure what is causing the correlation betwen food allergies and asthma, but the researchers behind the study are urging doctors to consider the possibility of food allergies in patients with hard to treat asthma or eczema.

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